


Everything

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Series: Recovery Trilogy [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 06:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10565529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: She wondered if the kid knew just how much his big brother talked about him. By the doubt in his eyes, she was guessing no.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on Nightwing 18, obviously. Bruce already got his alone time with Damian, so don’t you worry he was A+ dad this time. Shawn sits with D-squared as they both fall asleep. But Damian wakes up before Dick does, so he and Shawn have a total gossip session about Dick while he sleeps. They both decide he’s a huge dweeb and they can’t believe they both love him so much.

He stopped at the end of his path and scrunched his nose, staring pointedly at Alfred. The other man didn’t seem fazed, only gave the same disappointed stare back, glancing purposefully down at Dick’s wrapped ankle.

Dick huffed.

It wasn’t fair.

“It’s because she’s pretty right?” Dick asked sarcastically. Alfred just rolled his eyes, and looked back at the medical supplies he was cleaning. “It’s because Shawn is the prettiest person in this house right now, that’s why you let her in there?”

“No, it’s because she was polite and she _asked_.” Alfred returned with just as much attitude. “She asked for a moment alone with Master Damian, and I gave it to her. If you or Master Bruce or even Master Jason had come to me and asked first, you would have been granted the same.”

Dick crossed his arms in a pout. “Yeah right.”

“She will be upset if she returns and finds you still on your feet.” Alfred sighed. “Please sit down and rest, Master Richard. Your ankle will heal much faster.”

“Amputate it, I don’t care.” Dick grumbled, returning to his pacing. He glanced back towards the closed curtain, where his rescued girlfriend and potentially-maybe- _probably_ dying (again) brother were. He couldn’t even see their shadows, but he could hear their murmurs. Shawn’s gentle voice and Damian’s quiet, short responses. “I don’t need it.”

“Always for the dramatics, aren’t you, Master Richard?” Alfred asked dryly. From the computer nearby, Bruce gave a soft snort of laughter.

~~

Damian was half asleep when he heard the curtain flutter. He jerked involuntarily, slowly lifting his head, ignoring the pain in his neck, and how helpless it and the morphine was making him.

And when the woman smiled softly at him, he frowned.

“Hello.” Shawn Tsang whispered anyway, closing the curtain behind her and taking a step towards his hospital bed.

“Shouldn’t you be with Grayson?” Damian mumbled, and he sounded sleepy. Much sleepier than he intended. It made him sound young, and he _hated_ it.

“He’ll survive a couple minutes on his own.” She laughed.

“Hm. I’m not so sure.” Damian scoffed.

Shawn laughed again and came to the side of the bed, slowly leaning against the mattress. When Damian didn’t object, she sat there, staring down at him, looking…sad.

 _Pitiful_.

And Damian hated that, too.

He slowly rolled his head the other direction, refusing to look at her, and finally, the smile on her face faded.

Without warning though, she reached out, brushing Damian’s hair back. “…Your doctor said you shouldn’t be moving so much.”

“He’s not my doctor, he’s my butler.” Damian snapped, though he didn’t try to remove her hand. “And I’ve gone through worse. I’ve been shot in the spine before. This is nothing compared to that.”

Her hand hesitated. “…Oh.”

She lapsed into silence, then. Damian kept his gaze away from her. Looked at all the equipment around him. The beeping machines, the tray where the tools were supposed to be. They were all gone, but the bloody bullet that was lodged in his neck sat there still. He didn’t want to look at it, though, and raised his eyes towards the rocks above him instead, and the bats flying around.

“…Thank you.”

Damian paused, and reluctantly looked back at Shawn.

“For what?”

That smile of hers came back, and Damian had to admit…okay, maybe it was kind of nice. Simultaneously, she resumed petting at his hair. “For saving me.”

Damian rolled his eyes. “It’s part of my job.”

“Maybe.” Shawn shrugged. “Thank you for saving Dick, too.”

Damian blinked, and began to try to shake his head. The pain roared, even through the drugs, but he kept trying anyway. Because-

“I never-” He stuttered. “I didn’t save him. He didn’t need saving, he was just-”

“Yes you did. He was so focused on saving me, he didn’t see anything else, not even you. He’s realized that now, after the fact. He told me you saved his ass more times than he could count, just on this mission alone.” Shawn explained. “And by my count, you’ve been saving him for years, too.”

“Yeah, _sure_.” Damian drawled, in an attempt to cover up his discomfort. He shifted away, trying to show through body language he was done talking. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m tired. I need to-”

“He talks about you, you know.” Shawn whispered. Damian froze, and looked back. Her face, despite holding that smile, was serious. Genuine. “All the time.”

And Damian…found himself slumping back into his pillow, staring intently at her. And after a moment, where Shawn silently pulled her hand back, he found his voice was a little too hopeful when he asked: “…What?”

“He’s told me about all your missions, and when you lived together, and when you died. All of that. Thought he didn’t mention you’d been shot in the spine before.” Her brow furrowed a little bit there, but she shook it off. “Honestly, there’s been days where he talks about literally _nothing else_ but you.”

Damian just stared in shock.

“I asked him what he wanted for dinner once, and honest to god, he went on a rant for an hour about how you let him have the last of the milk one morning, and then when you got in trouble for eating cereal out of the box, you didn’t say a thing to incriminate him.” Shawn giggled. “It’s…annoying, at times.”

“Just tell him to shut up. Or hit him.” Damian deadpanned, though it was more of an automatic statement than a barb. He was still trying to understand what he was being told. “That’s what I do when I think he’s talking too much.”

“No, no, it’s…also nice sometimes too.” Shawn promised. “I like hearing about his family. About you.”

Damian just pursed his lips.

“He told me…” She started, then inhaled sharply, glancing towards the bloody bullet on the tray. “He told me, while you were in surgery, that this was payback for a few years ago. When _he_ was shot in the neck by this Hurt guy, too.”

Damian remembered. How could he forget? That was one of his many failures. One of the many times he almost lost his older brother, when he didn’t _protect_ him.

“And he told me…how scared you were, for him.” Shawn continued. “How you were willing to let Gotham burn down and get destroyed, all because you wanted to stay at his side when he was in pain.”

Damian didn’t have it in him at this moment to refute the statement, or even try.

“And he said it’s funny, because you have such a prickly exterior, and don’t let people close unless you trust them, but you’re one of the kindest people he’s ever met.” Shawn smiled, chuckled lightly, like she was remembering the exact moment Dick told her all this. “You’re kind and funny and sweet and everything everyone who doesn’t know you wishes you were. He said he knows you trust him more than a lot of people, and is…downright _giddy_ that he gets to see that side of you. It’s like his own special secret, and he _refuses_ to let that go.”

And speak of the devil, they could hear him now. Dick was down in the cave, demanding to come behind the curtain and getting stopped by Alfred and Bruce both.

“…He told me about when you died, and how hard it was for him.” Shawn’s voice hitched a little, and Damian was honestly surprised she was getting emotional about it. “Your death _wrecked_ him. He said losing you was even worse than losing his parents. He said he started drinking, stopped taking care of himself. He said no one would’ve recognized him – but he almost never left his apartment, so no one ever saw him like that.”

“I…” Damian breathed, eyes wide and hurt. “I didn’t know that…”

Shawn smiled again, and it was sad. “I know.” She murmured. “He said that too.”

Damian glanced almost desperately towards the curtain.

“He wakes up sometimes, in the middle of the night, and asks. Or will just say it as a fact.” Shawn explained. “‘Shawn, do you think Damian knows how much I love him?’ ‘Shawn, he doesn’t know. I _know_ he doesn’t. He’s going to die again and he has no idea.’ …You know, things like that.”

Damian was floored. He…he didn’t. He _didn’t_ have any idea.

“Well.” Damian still tried to dismiss it, and disprove. Because there were no good things in his life, and he’d given up on Grayson. He’d decided. After this last mission he had decided once and for all. Grayson didn’t love him as much as he thought. That maybe he himself wasn’t _worth_ as much as he thought if Grayson had finally given up on him like everyone else already had. And how dare this woman. How _dare_ this Shawn Tsang give him hope that maybe he was wrong, that maybe he jumped to conclusions. That Dick wasn’t giving him up for her and a potential child. That he wasn’t being forgotten all over again by someone he cared about. That he _mattered at all._ “If how your rescue went was any indication-”

“He messed up. He knows he did.” Shawn cut off. “I told you, we talked during your surgery. He looked back on everything from the moment I called him about the pregnancy test to the moment everything was done and we were bringing you here. He realized what a jerk he was, and he’s been beating himself up ever since. That’s what he was doing, actually, upstairs. He was – and probably still _is_ – afraid that he won’t get to tell you how sorry he is. That you’ll die before he can see you again. He was so caught up in his thoughts I was able to sneak away and get down here first.”

And despite it all, Damian couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Crafty.”

“Hey, you don’t spend a few years as a criminal and not learn a few things.” Shawn winked.

“…And that pregnancy test?” Damian asked. “What was the result?”

“One thing at a time, we decided.” Shawn said. “We talked about it, and decided that we’d wait until you were out of the woods before trying to figure all that out. I know it’ll freak you out, Damian, but surprise! _You_ come first. It’s about time don’t you think?”

Damian felt the blush in his cheeks, and knew from Shawn’s widening grin she saw it too.

“…You know, he said something else, back in Pyg’s lair. When he first messed up his ankle and you ran off to stop the Dollotrons or whatever. He kept saying he thought he lost me, and that, in losing _me_ , he thought he lost _everything_. But…honestly, I don’t think that’s true. Not for me.” She kept her smile. “ _You_ , though. I think he truly _would_ lose everything if he lost you again.”

They heard another tantrum from Dick beyond the curtain, and Shawn glanced back.

“We probably only have a few more minutes at most.” She hummed, turning back to Damian, who was timidly glancing towards the curtain himself. “So, really. I just wanted to tell you, from the bottom of my heart.” She reached out and placed her hand over Damian’s. “Thank you for saving me. And saving him all these years too.”

Before Damian could even open his mouth to respond, the curtain burst open, revealing a frazzled, if not determined, Dick Grayson standing in its doorway.

Shawn leaned back as Dick hobbled across the space. And she knew that look on his face. Hell, she and Damian _both_ knew that look on his face.

“Dick…” She warned. “Be careful. He’s weak and he’s tired, so he needs to-”

Dick ignored her as he practically flung himself onto Damian, wrapping his arms as tight around him as he could, hiding his face along the bandage wrapped around his neck.

Damian grunted, though not necessarily in pain. “Grayson…!”

“I’m sorry.” Dick whispered, and Damian looked over at Shawn. “I’m so sorry, Damian. This…this is my fault. I took you for granted, I ignored you, I dragged you into this mess and I got you hurt. This is my fault and I am so. _Sorry_.”

Damian tried to respond, but then suddenly Dick was moving again, and his groggy mind couldn’t keep up. Dick unwound himself from the embrace, only to place his hands on Damian’s face.

“Grayson…”

“I love you. Do you know I love you? Have I ever actually _told_ you?” Dick asked, too quickly. “Because I do. I love you…more than anything. You’re my little brother and I’d do _anything_ for you. I’d do anything not to _lose_ you again. And I swear, this won’t happen again. I’ll _never_ let another person lay a hand on you, I swear. I’ll never ignore you or snap at you or anything like that _ever again._ ”

“Dick, honey…” Dick paused at the gentle hand on his arm, and glanced over at Shawn. “He’s still recovering, you know that. So let’s slow it down a little, okay? How about you let him sleep a little before you have an emotional breakdown basically on top of him.”

“…Right.” Dick looked back down at Damian. “Right, I…” He flashed a smile, leaned down and kissed Damian’s forehead. “Sorry, kiddo, I just. I was so worried. I was so scared for you. I know you hate my freak-outs, but I just…I’m sorry.”

“I know. And it’s okay, Grayson.” Damian tried to smile, but he knew the drugs were morphing it into something else. When Dick moved to pull back, Damian slowly reached up and clung to his wrists. “Do you mind…staying with me?”

Dick’s grin was so wide, Damian was afraid it might hurt him. “I’d like nothing more, Damian.”

Damian shifted slightly, to give Dick room on the bed. When he was up on the mattress, Dick carefully wound an arm around the back of his neck, pulling him gently into the safety of his chest. As Dick made himself comfortable, Damian glanced tiredly at Shawn.

“You too, please.”

It wasn’t a question. In fact, Shawn knew it was a barely-veiled demand. But she laughed anyway, as Dick kissed Damian’s hair, and she took the little boy’s hand once more.

“Sure thing, Robin.”


End file.
